


Midnight in Paris

by zippizappi



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-09 13:31:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12888921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zippizappi/pseuds/zippizappi
Summary: During a student exchange trip to Paris, Caleb takes up the opportunity to spend a memorable night on the town with Hanna. Fetus Haleb, canon until 1x18. After that, not so much. Some other characters are mentioned, too, and let's pretend Spoby's a thing already.





	1. I

  _Your usual disclaimers apply: I do not own these characters and I am not making any money with this. So please don't sue me. :-)_

* * *

**MIDNIGHT IN PARIS** _  
_

****

* * *

Chapter One

**~ 9:06 AM ~ Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris ~**

"Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. Alright, we're complete." Mr. Gilbert finished his mumbled count of all the students gathered around him at the exit of Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. "Maintenant je veux que vous m'écoutiez tous attentivement, je vais vous donner les instructions pour le reste de la journée. J'ai ces lettres ici pour vous. Elles sont de la part de-"

He stopped speaking after his sharp teacher's eye noticed that not everyone in the crowd was paying attention to him. "Aria, peux-tu laisser ton téléphone pour une minute? C'est important."

The crowd looked at him incredulously and bedazzled. No-one seemed to have understood a word of what he had said. Apart from that one girl, standing next to the teacher with a notebook and a pen ready at hand, shoving the phone that she had just pulled from her coat back into the pocket.

Mr. Gilbert scoffed and went on in English, "Aria, could you put your phone down for a minute? This is important."

"This is important, too. I'm just texting my boyfriend back home that I've arrived safely."

"Well, you can tell him later. You'll have plenty of time during your train ride to your host family's home."

Aria cringed at his words but did as she was told while exchanging meaningful glances with another girl.

Just as their teacher was about to open his mouth to repeat his announcement, he was interrupted by said girl.

"Mr. Gilbert, we've only just arrived. Could you just speak English with us now? We're all pretty much exhausted from the night flight you made us take." Hanna broke the awkward silence and asked the teacher of her French class to give them a break from their usual attempts at French conversation. She smiled courteously at him and added, "I mean after all, it's like 3am in Rosewood, right? I can't even think straight in my own language at 3 in the morning, let alone in French."

The fifty-something teacher sighed at the lazy group of students who did not meet his expectations when it came to eagerness about learning a foreign language. Eventually, he conceded. "I said I want you all to listen carefully as I'm going to give you instructions for the rest of the day. I have these letters here for you. They're from your host families."

He meandered through the small groups of students and browsed the heap of envelopes in order to hand everyone their destined message.

Secluded from the rest of the class sat 17-year-old Caleb Rivers on a flat bollard with his legs drawn to his body, arms resting on his knees, a medium-sized duffel bag lying at his feet. He was the odd man out, clearly sticking out from the other students with his long hair, dark clothes, and a faint air of indifference.

He took the letter from Mr. Gilbert who was passing by, all the while explaining some ground rules for the group of exchange students. Luckily for them, in their native language. They were all about to spend two weeks at Rosewood High School's partner school in Paris, France. Mr. Gilbert was the French teacher with a sincere passion for his own first language, and to him, this was homecoming.

Caleb opened his envelope and found a handwritten message and a family picture of the people he was supposed to spend the following weeks with inside. His facial features relaxed upon seeing the familiar face in the photo. Then he looked up and searched for a pair of bright blue eyes among the sea of faces around him.

It took him less than two seconds to find them. They were directed at him, ignoring the three other pretty girls around them who were all talking vividly in reaction to having opened their own letters.

The red eye flight to Paris had taken away some of their usual sparkle, but all things considered, Hanna Marin was still the most beautiful girl to him.

A fashionista, his complete opposite.

With passion like a wildfire.

His friend. But more importantly, his girlfriend.

Not that many people knew about that. Her friends, who were huddled together, laughing, showing off pictures to each other, knew, of course. But to this day, Caleb wasn't sure if they had welcomed him into their circle of friends.

Interestingly enough, the boy in the photo that had come with his letter, knew about their relationship.

But apart from them, he and Hanna were intent on keeping things low-key, taking things slow. They had only been dating for four weeks, and that in itself seemed like a miracle to him.

Hanna had quickly skimmed her message and smiled at the picture of a family of three before lifting her gaze off of her letter to proceed reading the reaction in Caleb's face. She was instantly relieved when she saw him smiling at her. She knew she would have to let him go soon as they would all take different trains to go meet their host families. Deep in her heart, she wanted to walk over to him and ask if he was happy with his placement. But that would only create unwanted attention.

It was hard, acting like they were nothing more than fellow students, when she was around him. But if she wanted to keep Mr. Gilbert and his strict, all-seeing eye off her back, she and Caleb had to confine themselves to longing looks… and exchanging hundreds of texts.

If Mr. Gilbert knew that two of his students in French class were dating, he would keep a watchful eye out for the girl, fully aware of the massive responsibility resting on his shoulders about having brought a class full of pretty teenaged girls to his home town.

Hanna checked if the coast was clear and saw Mr. Gilbert still handing out the remaining letters. She made quick work of sending Caleb a short text.

" _You okay?"_

She watched him pull his phone from his leather jacket, and a set of warm brown eyes instantly darted up at her for a second before focusing on sending a message back.

" _Never been better. You?"_

Hanna looked around and then let her fingers swipe over the keypad.

" _Yeah. My host parents have a son. Jealous?"_

The answer came promptly.

" _Should I be? Does he look like Justin Bieber?"_

She looked up from the small screen again, grinning back at him through a gap in the throng of people scurrying across the plaza past her group of friends. " _More like Justin Bieber's little brother. He's 13. ;-)"_

Their gazes met again when suddenly, their line of vision was blocked by Mr. Gilbert who had come to a standstill between them, crossing off things on a clipboard and looking around every now and then during his lecture about cultural differences and unrightful prejudices.

Finally, noticing that the students were getting restless and were barely listening, he finished his speech and escorted them to the airport's train station to send them off to different parts of the city on their own account. They would all be seeing each other again bright and early in the morning for their first lesson at a high school somewhere in the heart of Paris. He said goodbye to everyone and motioned for Caleb to follow him along; he would have to take the first train along with his teacher.

Caleb got up from the bollard and hoisted his duffel bag onto his back. He strode over to Hanna and her friends and stopped to look at the girls' faces, saying loudly, "See you all tomorrow." Then his gaze fixated on Hanna's face, silently mouthing the words "I'll call you later," while waving awkwardly with his phone in his hand.

Having gotten directions in their individual letters on how to get to their host families' homes, the students scattered in different directions, some taking regional trains which were about to leave in a matter of minutes, others had time to spare and strolled through the station to go shopping.

Hanna shrugged apologetically at her boyfriend as if she were to blame for his obligation to share a group ticket with their teacher and watched him leave. She felt sad about seeing him off without so much as a kiss. Caleb was only her second boyfriend, yet everything about their relationship seemed so different, so… right. She was a little mad at the circumstances, being in her favorite place in the whole world and having her boyfriend there with her, but they weren't allowed to touch each other, much less spend some alone time together. The upcoming days were already full with classes, field trips and down time with her temporary family, the Girards.

If she had any luck, she would see Caleb again during recess at school. But that wasn't for another twenty hours. And until then she would have to get by without him. However, she was happy that Caleb got to come along for the exchange trip after all, as he had only recently joined French class and it had taken him forever to bring the signed permission slip that allowed him to go in the first place.

The only thing that could lighten her up at the moment was the thought of going on a sightseeing tour through the city with the others the day after tomorrow.

Hanna heard Spencer call her name and was ripped from her thoughts. She put her phone back into her purse, grabbed her suitcase and followed her friend.

"Do you think I can take a nap before our train leaves?" Hanna asked after a yawn had slipped from her mouth.

"Hanna, our train leaves in 25 minutes." Spencer looked at her reproachfully.

"So? I'm good at napping. Just show me the way to the nearest lounge chair. I'll even settle for a bench. I'm so tiiiiirreeddd," Hanna whined, falling behind after Spencer.

"Han, everybody's tired. At least, you got to bring your boyfriend along for the trip. Text him, call him, do… whatever you're doing with him on the phone. I'm sure Caleb can help keeping you awake through the jet lag." Spencer paused and allowed Hanna to catch up with her. "Mine is sound asleep in his bed in Rosewood and won't get up for another three hours. So, please, do me a favor and snap out of it."

At that, Spencer walked away and left her standing alone. Hanna increased her pace and soon went head to head with her again. "Wow! So Toby still hasn't made any effort to move to second base with you and you're still grumpy about that? Is that it?"

"Why? Have you and Caleb?" Spencer suddenly came to a standstill, causing Hanna to bump into her.

"Spence!" Hanna called out at her.

"So, have you…?" Spencer looked at her with a curious expression on her face.

Hanna's cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

"Oh my god, Hanna." She exclaimed excitedly. "How was it? You need to tell me all about it. We have twenty minutes to cover until we can board our train."

The blonde girl looked around and pointed at a nearby café. "Alright, I still haven't been to the currency exchange office yet. How about you buy me coffee and I'll spill?"

* * *

 

_to be continued..._


	2. II

_CHAPTER 2_ **_  
_ **

* * *

**~ 10:44 AM ~ Avenue du Bel Air, Paris ~**

* * *

"I'm telling you, Spence, the boy creeps me out! He keeps watching me 24/7." Hanna spoke into her phone as she stood with her back leaning against the door of her guest room in the apartment of the Dubois family which would be her home for the following seventeen days.

Her friend on the other end of the line removed the phone from her ear to peek at her wrist watch while trying to hold on tight to the grab pole in a car of line 3 of the Parisian Mètro. The car was loaded and she had to gather her suitcases at her feet to keep a close eye on them. Adding to her frustration was the fact that she'd had to wait all alone at the train station for half an hour only to receive a phone call from her host father, telling her that due to the traffic situation they wouldn't be able to make it there in time to pick her up. And now, her friend was calling her to complain about her nosy 'brother'. "Han, you've only been there for what… 13 minutes?"

"But he's been watching me ever since the whole family picked me up at the railroad station. I swear I craned my neck from pretending to be hard at sightseeing through my side window just to avoid his staring."

"At least your host parents picked you up from the train. I have to take the subway and switch trains! Twice!" Spencer added slightly agitated.

"Then I bet you got to see way more of Paris by now than me." She quietly opened her door and peered through the crack.

"Yeah, from down below the surface of the earth. Han, I know what they say about Paris being all romantic, blah blah. Let me tell you my first impression of Paris. Paris smells. It practically stinks. These Mètro stations… they smell like public restrooms." Spencer sighed heavily.

When the coast was clear, Hanna quickly tiptoed to the open door opposite from her room and closed it behind her, all the while listening to her friend's deliberations about traveling belowground. "Ewww, Spencer!" Hanna screwed up her face. "I'm pretty sure that as soon as you step out of the subway, Paris will be wonderful and romantic."

"I miss Toby." Spencer said into the phone with a saddened voice.

"Already? You just talked to him on the phone at the airport while I was sipping at that ridiculously expensive Latte."

"Sooo, how are the parents? Do you think you're gonna get along well?" Spencer asked, changing the subject.

"They're alright. We haven't really spoken much as we're all a bit tongue-tied, I guess. They said a whole lot of French words when we met at the station, and I must have looked a little lost or something because they stopped talking altogether and they didn't say anything again until we arrived at their place."

"And how's the neighborhood?" Spencer asked curiously. "Any nice cafés or museums close by?"

"I didn't watch out for that. All I could think of was Caleb being shipped off on a train with Mr. Gilbert all by himself. He said he'd call me as soon as he got there, but I haven't heard from him yet."

"He'll be busy meeting the family and being shown around their house. Just like you should be right now."

"Oh, we're already through with that. The place isn't that big, you know."

"Well, I don't know about mine yet. I'm almost there, though. Can I call you back later, Han? Gotta switch trains here. Again, ugh!" Spencer groaned.

"No, don't hang up yet. I need to talk to somebody I actually understand. God, why are these people all talking so fast? It's like they never breathe in between words. I can never tell where one word ends and where the next one begins." Hanna complained while checking out a _Word of the Day_ calendar that stood on the heater.

"But that's French. How did you manage in class up until now?" Spencer tried to stifle a laugh.

"Well… Mr. Gilbert doesn't speak that fast, for one. Plus, I have you sitting right next to me." The blonde smiled into her phone, oblivious to the fact that the girl on the other end of the line rolled her eyes at her remark. But before long, the desperate undertone returned to her voice. "I don't know if I can do this, Spencer. Their main bathroom doesn't even have a lock!" Hanna exclaimed agitatedly.

"It's only for two weeks. You'll get by." Spencer didn't really see the problem. She was busy trailing her suitcases behind her in order to get to her next train. "Where are you now? Still in your room?"

"I locked myself in the guest bathroom and I think this is where I'm gonna have to go for some privacy here for the next two weeks." Hanna groaned in reaction to her plight. "Hold it, Spence. It's him again. I can hear him lurking around in the hall." Hanna instantly lowered her voice, although she wasn't even sure if her lurker was able to understand her.

"Show him your boobs, maybe that'll suffice to keep him away from you." Exasperated about having to heave her luggage onto the subway car all by herself, Spencer said the first thing that had entered her mind.

"Are you nuts? I've never shown my boobs to anyone, not even Caleb. I'm not gonna start with a thirteen-year-old perv!" Hanna tried hard to muffle her voice as she covered her mouth and phone with her hand.

Finally able to sit down and relax, Spencer felt intrigued instantly. "Wait? What? What do you mean? Not even Caleb?"

"No, we're taking things slow." She closed the toilet lid and sat down on it, relieved that she finally got to tell somebody about the progress she was making in her relationship with Caleb.

"Why? Because he hasn't made any advances? Has he finally realized that you're way out of his league?"

"Spence, don't say that. You don't even really know him all that well." Hanna said defensively. "We've only been going out for a month now… And we're doing… stuff… you know."

"Stuff… I see. Hanna, does Caleb know you're still carrying around your v-card?" Spencer asked bluntly.

"Spencer! Could you please not talk about that on the subway?" Hanna hissed into her phone.

"What? Nobody knows who I'm talking to. Plus, I don't think any of the people around me here understood a single word I've said." Spencer conspicuously eyed her fellow passengers and gave the woman sitting across from her who was staring at her intently, an apologetic smile. "Does he?"

"No, I haven't told him." Hanna said shyly.

Spencer was slightly surprised. "Why? Toby knows everything about me."

"Because we haven't gotten around to that subject yet." Hanna rolled her eyes, unnerved by having to deal with this issue right now which stirred some long forgotten bad memories.

"When are you planning to tell him?" Spencer pressed on.

"When the time is right. Not today. Not in Paris, anyway." The blonde girl perused the tiles on the wall, wishing she could be far away from this place, back at home and back in Caleb's arms. But Spencer's voice came through to her and before long, she was pulled from her daydream.

"But you'd wanna have sex with him eventually, wouldn't you? I mean don't you wonder what he looks like underneath those ragged clothes and that leather jacket that is way too large for his frame?" The brunette grinned at the woman who was still staring at her without shame.

"Well… I don't have to wonder, I've seen his… frame." Hanna coughed lightly as she tried to cover up any suspicious sounding bits of that very private conversation and went on in a whisper. "I saw him naked in our shower before we started dating."

"Whaaaat? Are you serious? Why haven't you told me?" Spencer yelled but quickly lowered her voice again when she noticed that even more people had started to look at her with a mild expression of resentment.

"Because it completely blew me away. Must have slipped my mind." Hanna remembered fairly well how that situation had come about and that she hadn't been able to think straight all day after she had seen Caleb naked in her own shower while hiding him from her mother.

"Oh my god, Hanna!" Spencer yelled excitedly.

"So, have you been thinking about seeing him naked again and… do… more… with him?"

"Yes! As a matter of fact, I have." Hanna felt her cheeks blush as she finally voiced what had been going around in her mind for a while.

"Aww, I'm so excited for you. Have you made any plans?"

"Yes. When we're back in Rosewood. My mom is going away for a weekend on some banker's banquet or something and I'm supposed to stay with my dad that night. But I'm gonna tell him that it's your birthday and that we're all gonna have a sleepover at your barn." Her mind drifted off as she was starting to paint a picture in her mind, wishing that weekend would come around sooner.

"But my birthday is in April," Spencer said, focusing on the flaws in Hanna's plan, not the overall execution thereof.

"So? My dad doesn't know and I don't think that he cares. He has more important birthdays on his mind now, like Isobel's and Kate's." She spat out the names in disgust.

"Sounds like the perfect plan."

"For the perfect night." Hanna added with a dreamy look on her face.

"Hope –A. doesn't ruin it for you." With that one sentence, Spencer had again managed to rip Hanna out of her short musings about traveling up to cloud number nine with Caleb really soon.

A dead silence ensued between the two girls as the realization sunk in that they had been able to get away from –A. for now, at least. None of them had heard anything from their stalker since their plane took off from Philadelphia.

"Han, are you still there? Sorry, I really didn't wanna spoil your plans. Han?" Spencer tried warily when the other end of the line stayed quiet.

"Yes, I'm still here. I was listening with my head against the door to find out if Thomas was still eavesdropping on me."

"So, his name's Thomas? As in… Tom?" Spencer started to chuckle. "You are aware of the fact that you actually have a Peeping Tom there living with you?"

She laughed out loud now, leaving Hanna befuddled. Again, she furrowed her brows in reaction to Spencer's lame joke. "Spencer, this isn't funny! Focus! Do you think I should get it over with while were here and sort of free from –A.?" She nervously bit her lip.

"Come on! How would you ever pull that off? By skipping school? Or meeting up in the broom closet next to the gym in between algebra and science classes?" When she didn't hear anything from Hanna, she went on to state the obvious, "Besides, you wouldn't just want to get it over with. You love this guy, don't you?"

"I… like him." Hanna looked at herself in the mirror hanging above the lavatory and lifted the collar of her shirt, checking out the faint contours of the hickey on the base of her neck that Caleb had given to her on one of their previous dates. "I like him a lot." The dreamy look on her face reappeared. That was four days ago, and she almost let him… she almost allowed him…

"Has he tried to get under your shirt? Or deeper down below?" Spencer cut in unawares of Hanna's inner turmoil.

"Well…." Just when Hanna was about to let her friend in on the new status of her sexual experience, Spencer's flustered voice interrupted her train of thought. "Malesherbes?" she looked at her palm where she had written down directions to get to her host family's house. "Oh, wait. This is my station, I have to get out here. Hang on."

Spencer left the station with her load of baggage in tow and checked her foldout map. In the meantime, Hanna held the phone jammed between her head and her shoulder while sizing herself up in the mirror, contemplating if Caleb would be able to detect that she was still a virgin. However, it wasn't long before Spencer's voice boomed through the earpiece again.

"Listen, I'm almost there, I just have to find the right house. Han? Tell me quick, has he really never tried to grope you? 'Cause he seems like a groper kinda guy to me with the way he talks and acts like the tough one."

"What? No!" Hanna retorted, appalled. "He would never do anything like that." But then she got into thinking. "Wait? Do you think that because he hasn't made any advances in that direction by now, it means that he doesn't wanna sleep with me either?" She asked with apprehension.

"Oh, he wants to! Trust me, Han. Forget what I said about Caleb, okay? I'm sure he's a good guy." Spencer was quick to assure her. "I'm not blind, he's madly in love with you. His eyes are basically undressing you every time I see the two of you together. That's why I was kind of surprised when you said that you two haven't… had sex yet." She turned at another corner and folded up her map as she had finally arrived at her destination. "Look, I've gotta hang up now. Whatever you decide and wherever you decide to do it, Han… don't forget to use protection. Okay. Bye." And at that, she ended the conversation and rang the doorbell.

"Bye." Hanna was left staring down at her phone, more confused than ever. And kind of hooked on the idea of getting together with Caleb as soon as possible. Hearing about him being seemingly madly in love with her had caused the butterflies in her belly to erupt into a tingling mass of fluttery strokes. She couldn't wait to get over her school days, hadn't really been all that into them anyway, and over the obligational class trips and family outings so she could find a way to meet up with him in private. Mr. Gilbert had promised all students would have an entire afternoon off soon where they were allowed to explore Paris all on their own.

Originally planning to go shopping with the girls and splurge at exquisite fashion boutiques, Hanna's thoughts now kept circling back to her last date with Caleb and how the hell it was possible for him to have such amazingly soft hands when the rest of his exterior seemed so raw and battered.

She was sure that he was still harboring some secrets and she hoped that he would soon feel comfortable enough to open up to her at last. He had only told her that he had been in foster care for a long time now, but so far he had always kept mum about the reasons behind that. She knew better than to push him into telling her, conceding that otherwise he'd keep his mouth shut entirely. But boy, could that mouth kiss, she thought with a giddy smile playing at her lips while she still sat on the toilet seat with her head propped up on her knees before her.

"Hanna? Où es tu? Tu vas bien?" [ _Hanna? Where are you? Are you okay?_ ]

The smile vanished from her face as she realized who had called out for her and was now knocking on the door of the family's guest bathroom.

"Est-ce que ta mère te manque? Où as tu le mal du pays? Je peux nous faire un chocolat chaud." [ _Do you miss your mom? Are you homesick? I can make us some hot cocoa_.]

Now, that was an offer that she couldn't decline. Hot cocoa to nurture the longing in her heart sounded just about right at this moment. Thomas didn't have to know who she was actually longing for.

Hanna got up and unlocked the door. Then, she quickly tore off a single piece of toilet paper before stepping back into the hallway, pretending to be dabbing at her non-existent tears.

"Alors… Caleb? C'est ton copain ou ton petit ami?" The boy asked as he turned on his heel to walk to the kitchen. [ _So… Caleb? Is he your friend or your boyfriend?_ ]

She opened her mouth as if to say something but then decided to ignore his question. "You're funny," she told him and tousled the boy's hair while she followed him into the kitchen, mumbling to herself. "Seventeen days, Hanna. Seventeen days."

* * *

**~ 11:05 AM ~ Boulevard Suchet, Paris ~**

* * *

Caleb rang the doorbell for the second time and stepped back off of the super clean doormat gracing the entrance of his temporary home for the following two weeks. Instinctively, he checked the rubber soles of his worn-out Dr. Martens boots for their compatibility to enter a foreign family's apartment. He was biding his time with a quick glance at his phone, finding it odd that it took them so long to answer the door.

Just as his hand came up to push the button for a third time, the door swung open and a young man clad in nothing but sleep shorts opened the door, looking clearly surprised and embarrassed. "Caleb? What are you doing here today? You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow," he exclaimed in a thick French accent. "Fuck! How long did I sleep? Is it already Friday?"

Caleb looked at him with irritation. "Hi Sèb! It's so good to see you in person again." The two came together for a short but awkward man hug. "What's with the confusion? I was always supposed to come on a Thursday."

"Really? Is today the 4th? Merde, je suis désolé! My parents, though, they are not here yet."

"What do you mean, they're not here? They know that I'm coming, right?" Caleb hoisted the heavy duffel bag off of his shoulders and dropped it on the doormat.

"They're in Toulouse visiting my sister and her new bébé." Sèb told him, adding, "They are back tomorrow morning," as if that would make it seem less inappropriate that they had obviously written down the wrong date of their guest's arrival in Paris.

Caleb smirked slightly. "Can I come in anyway?"

"Oh, um, of course. Oui. Come on in." The French boy stepped back from the door to make room for Caleb and his duffel bag to pass through.

"Thanks." He stepped over the threshold and tossed his bag in an empty corner of the hallway, looking around to check out the place. "Wow, nice digs!" He said approvingly as his glance darted over the immaculately styled and meticulously clean apartment. "That's definitely something else than that bungalow in Allentown they made you crash in."

"Yes, this place is, for sure. But you should see my apartment in Toulouse, it is only half as big as our bathroom here." Sèb chuckled at the memories that Caleb's appearance had stirred, but it was only in hindsight that he was able to laugh about those days.

"Make yourself at home while I go get dressed," he said and left Caleb to himself, who kicked off his shoes in order to explore all the rooms in the apartment.

A few minutes later, Sèb reappeared from his room and joined Caleb in the living room. The young man was staring at the family pictures in nice silver frames that had been put on display on top of a classic piano.

There was even a picture of him and Sèb together that had been taken in Allentown on Sèb's 18th birthday. Caleb got lost in thoughts, reminiscing about their time together.

Before Caleb arrived in Rosewood, he had lived with a foster family in another town, yet in the same state: Allentown. The only positive memory that Caleb had kept from that part of his boyhood was his friendship to Sèbastien Thibault who had been an exchange student himself back then. Though two years his senior, Sèb and Caleb had hit it off with each other almost immediately. Both had been biding their time at the local high school, hoping that somewhere down the road, life would deal them both a new deck of cards to start over. Sèb had been a shy boy back then, misplaced in a very poor and broken host family, spending most of his time outside of their home in order to avoid trouble. At some point, he had crossed paths with Caleb who had been hanging around with a different circle of friends. Caleb realized with a shudder that if it hadn't been for Sèb, he probably wouldn't have even been around to live and see Paris right now. And he would have never met Hanna.

He thought about her again and hoped that she was feeling comfortable wherever she was right now. He hated having to pretend that they were nothing more than friends. He'd had to fight for so long until she had finally let down her guard.

For now, the only thing that kept him going was the fact that he only had to wait two more days to get close to her again. He would see her again tomorrow morning in school, for sure. But it was the prospect of hopefully spending their afternoon off two days from now alone together that kept his mind reeling. So many opportunities, so few chaperones standing on the sidelines…

"You want me to give you a hand to unpack your things?" Sèb's voice abruptly ended his musings as he reentered the room, now fully dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and carrying Caleb's duffel bag into the living room.

"I'll unpack later. Let's catch up first. What have you been up to since we last skyped. Must have been during the summer," Caleb turned to face him and stood awkwardly before him with his hands stuffed in his pants' pockets, still getting accustomed to the unfamiliar surroundings and seeing his friend again half a year after they'd had to part ways in Allentown.

"Yes, it's been a while. Alors… I started at University in Toulouse, it's where I live now. I'm lucky I don't have to work to pay for the place. My parents are still on a guilt trip after having dumped me in America so they could tell everyone that their son is studying a semester abroad."

"It's not like you didn't learn anything there," Caleb looked at Sèb and the two exchanged meaningful grins.

"All the wrong things, though, in their eyes. That's why they are being extra generous to me now."

"At least you're getting something out of it." Caleb turned back around to look at the picture frames again. After a moment, he picked one up and showed it to him. "Who's this?"

Sèb smiled at the image of himself holding a long-haired girl in his arms. "Oh, that's Hélène."

"Dude, you're blushing! You two going steady?" Caleb gave him an appreciative slap on his upper arm after Sèb had shrugged shyly.

"That's awesome, man!" Caleb exclaimed excitedly, showing his shared joy sincerely. "Look at us. Allentown High's lonesome wolfs… with steady girlfriends."

"But it's all still very new, with us I mean," the French boy said apologetically.

"Same with me and Hanna," Caleb concurred and finally felt himself relax after having found a common ground that was comfortable enough to keep the conversation going.

"Now get rid of the jacket and let's go sit down," Sèb demanded. "Want something to drink?"

"Sure. Coke, juice, beer… whatever you've got." Caleb pulled his cell phone out of the pocket of his leather jacket and put it on the grand piano. Then he took off the jacket and laid it on the sofa behind him.

"Oh, wait. Don't put it here. My parents are going to freak out when they see fingerprints on the piano. "Sèb grabbed the phone and turned on his heel. "Let me just…"

He let his gaze wander through the room, pondering where to put the phone when suddenly, it started to beep and vibrate in his hand. The picture of a blonde girl appeared on the screen, revealing the caller's ID. "Is that your girlfriend? Hanna?" He ignored the incoming call for a second in order to look at the girl's image again before handing the phone back to Caleb. Sèb let out a whistle and nodded approvingly, making it clear that he liked what he'd seen.

Caleb grinned at him. "Yeah. That's her."

"You were right, she is pretty," his French friend grinned at him.

"Yeah," Caleb said with a righteous expression of pride on his face and quickly answered his phone at last while Sèb left him alone to go get drinks from the kitchen.

_to be continued..._


	3. III

_CHAPTER 3_

* * *

**~ 11:23 AM ~ Boulevard Suchet & Avenue du Bel Air, Paris ~**

* * *

"Hey!" Caleb greeted his girlfriend over the phone. He immediately felt a twinge of guilt when he heard her concerned voice. "

"Hey you. Where are you? Still stuck on a train with Mr. Gilbert?"

"No, I'm with the Thibaults now. Don't worry, Han. I got here safely. I would have called sooner if I could've," he tried to lighten up her mood.

It helped for the time being, and Hanna soon found another topic to dwell on. "How's the family? Did you get nice host parents?"

"I can't tell; they're not here yet. Their son Sèbastien and I, we're alone for now." Caleb proceeded to check out the interior of the living room, pausing every so often to take a look at the paintings that hung on the high walls.

Hanna was back on high alert again. "What do you mean? Alone for now? They left you alone on your first day?"

He chuckled lightly, trying to sound as unconcerned as possible. "It gets even better. Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Thibault have mixed up the dates and thought that I was coming on the fifth. They're out of town visiting family. Guess they won't be back until tomorrow."

"Wait? Slow down. How could they have mixed up the dates? Who's gonna take you to school tomorrow?" She rambled.

"Sèb could take me, I guess. He's nineteen, he's got a license."

"I'm not going to get up that early, man. We have a driver, he's going to take you." Sèb's voice sounded through the room as he came back carrying two glasses, which had a very pink drink in them. "Tell Hanna that I call and ask my parents to fly home earlier. I'm sure they can be here later tonight."

He handed one of the glasses to Caleb, who instantly furrowed his brows. "What's this?" He murmured to Sèb.

"It's lait grenadine. You don't know?" He grinned at the American. "Go ahead. Try it!"

"Who are you talking to? Is that your host family's son?" Hanna made herself heard again after realizing that Caleb had been talking to someone else. "Is he nice? Bet he's nicer than the one I'm sharing a bathroom with."

"Uhhh, yeah… he is." Caleb faltered, unsure of what he should tell her about him now. Then, he carefully lifted the glass and smelled its contents, cringing slightly in reaction. He took a small sip and instantly cringed even more. "That's disgusting, Sèb. Seriously, what is this stuff? It tastes as bad as it looks."

"What are you drinking?" Hanna was desperate to keep the conversation going. Anything was better than having to leave her guest room and have Thomas trailing behind her.

"Uh, lait grenadine," Caleb scoffed as he answered her question.

"Oh, I had one just now, I loved it," she told him innocently.

Of course, she did. Of course, his pink loving girlfriend would also love something as hideously sweet as this, he thought as he handed the glass back to Sèb. "Do you have orange juice or something?"

"You still living off orange juice, man?" Sèb laughed as he moved closer to him and leaned in to talk into the receiver. "Salut, Hanna! Bienvenue à Paris!"

"Salut," she replied to his welcome address, but then she immediately switched back to English again and asked Caleb, "Why haven't you called me?"

"Hanna, I've only been here for like twenty minutes." Caleb had heard the sad undertone in her voice and felt immediately distressed. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Sèb quickly got the notion and muttered, "I'll leave you two alone. If you need anything, I'll be in my room. Third door to the right." And at that, he walked out of the room.

"Save me!" Hanna moaned into the phone.

"What? Why?" Caleb watched and mouthed a silent 'thanks' to Sèb as he wordlessly came back into the living room and put a coaster and a glass of orange juice on the end table before disappearing back into his room.

"Because this thirteen-year-old Justin Bieber knockoff keeps creeping me out. He won't leave me alone and he's constantly staring at me and my boobs." Hanna whined. "I don't know what to say to him. I don't think he gets outside a lot. When he's not staring at me, he's staring at his computer screen."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Caleb offered.

"That's not a good idea, he knows who you are." She sighed.

"What? How?"

"He eavesdropped on me and Spencer when we were talking on the phone earlier," Hanna explained the situation.

"And you were talking about me? What were you talking about?" Hanna had piqued his interest; he smiled as he waited for her to elaborate.

"Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that. Random things," she tried to brush it off, "Anyway, I don't think this family likes me very much. They're just so different… so uptight."

"I can't imagine anyone not liking you, except for maybe really early in the morning. But how can you tell so soon?"

"When I unpacked my suitcase earlier, Marielle helped me put my stuff into the closet and I swear she was gasping at every piece of clothing that she laid her hands on," Hanna groaned.

"Well, don't let it get to you. You should make the best of your time while you're here. Just think of it this way, you're in Paris. You're gonna get to see some sights, do some shopping and spend plenty of money on French fashion. And don't forget, we'll be seeing each other soon for our day off together. We're still on, aren't we?"

"Yeah, of course we are." She nervously bit on her lower lip. "I just need to break the news to Aria, Spencer and Emily."

"I'm sure they'll understand," he soothed.

"Yeah, hopefully," came her mumbled response.

"So… Are you feeling any better now?" He shifted in his seat and leaned over to the end table to reach for his glass of juice.

"A little." She didn't sound convincingly.

"Okay, let me think of something that might cheer you up… like… What do you wanna do with me on our day off?" He took a sip of juice and put the glass back onto its coaster.

Hanna tilted her head back and closed her eyes in order to picture exactly what she wanted to happen, "Oh, I've always wanted to kiss somebody under the Eiffel Tower…" She mused before getting a little carried away, "…in the rain… at night…on a vespa."

Caleb laughed out loud at her cinematic fantasy. "Anything else I can do for you, Mademoiselle?"

"Are you mocking me?" Hanna frowned into her phone. "What is it _you_ wanna do? Huh?" She didn't have any idea of what kind of thing Caleb would want to do while they were there. He didn't seem like a guy who would enjoy going on sightseeing tours or visiting museums.

"I just wanna see you… and be able to kiss you whenever I feel like it… In private… No teachers, no other students around, just you and me. You can even take me shopping, if that's what it takes for us to be together," he tried to explain in a soothing voice.

It didn't fail to make her smile. "Really?" She wanted him to keep going with the romantic talk. But then, instead of Caleb speaking, she heard Thomas' voice cut in. "Hanna? Viens-tu? On déjeune maintenant." [ _Hanna, are you coming? We're having lunch now_.]

She sighed. "Shit, I have to hang up now… Caleb?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I… I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Definitely." He had tried to sound as positive as he could in order to give her something to hang on to during the time in which they would be apart. He felt bad for her, knowing that she wasn't feeling a tiny bit at home with the Girards yet.

The beep in his ear told him that Hanna had ended their conversation.

* * *

**~ 12:06 PM ~ Boulevard Suchet, Paris ~**

* * *

Caleb let his cell phone sink and sat down on the couch, thinking hard. He didn't like it when Hanna was sad about something or felt left out. He wanted to go to her place right now and take her into his arms so badly. But he knew that this wasn't the right moment to do so, and that she'd probably be preoccupied with her host family for the remainder of the day. And judging by what Hanna had told him about them being uptight people, he was convinced that they would not let him come inside if he told them he was there to console his girlfriend.

He felt like something had to be done in order to make her feel better. He just didn't know what that thing was. His every thought revolved around a grand gesture which he was planning for their last day together in France.

Sèb came back into the living room and instantly noticed that Caleb seemed somewhat absentminded. "Hey! Everything alright with your girlfriend? I kind of got the hint that she wasn't feeling very welcome here in Paris."

"She's a little unhappy about the people she was hooked up with." He sighed and took another sip from his glass.

"Tell me about her. What is your Hanna like?" Sèb asked him in order to try and steer the conversation in a more positive direction.

"How much time do you have? She is one special girl." Caleb smirked in response.

Sèb came closer and sat down right next to him on the couch. "I've got time."

Half an hour later, Caleb had told Sèb everything about his relationship with Hanna and was leaning back on the couch, waiting for a reaction from him.

"You sound like you're really in love with her. I've never heard you talk about a girl like this." Sèb patted him on the back, expressing how sincerely happy he was for him.

"I've never known a girl like her. She cares about me, she listens, she invited me to stay at her place without telling her mom." He smiled, "She's the best person that ever came into my life."

"Dude, you love this girl, admit it!" Sèb let his fist bump into Caleb's chest.

Caleb turned away, a little embarrassed. After all, nobody had ever talked to him about love. That word had become extinct in his personal vocabulary. It was only now finding its way back to him.

"Yeah, I… I think I do," he finally admitted.

Their gazes met and for a moment, neither of them dared to move. Then, suddenly, Sèb stood up without a word and left the room. Caleb stared after him. "What are you doing?"

"Come on, let's go." Sèb returned and threw Caleb's leather jacket at him before he put on his own coat.

"Where?" Caleb quickly gulped down the rest of his juice and stood up, sensing he shouldn't ask Sèb any more questions when his friend was up to something.

"Run some errands." He said without any further explanation. "And we're going to buy some food. I'm starving, man."

The two young men simultaneously slipped into their black boots, and Sèb grabbed his backpack before locking up the apartment after them.

As they stepped outside and started walking through the quiet residential area, Sèb started another interrogation. "Have you told her?

"What?" Caleb looked at him, furrowing his brows.

"That you love her?" Sèb rolled his eyes.

"No." The other boy looked down at the pavement, feeling no urge to elaborate.

"Why not?" Sèb looked at him curiously and continued to hurry along on the sidewalk.

"I wanted to tell her here in Paris. It's her favorite place in the world," Caleb explained. He had trouble keeping up with him.

"You don't think she's waiting for you to tell her?" Finally, Sèb slowed down a little. "Do you think she loves you, too?"

"I kinda think that she wanted to tell me after our last date, but I cut her off and kissed her goodnight," Caleb sighed.

"Oh man! Why?" Sèb was starting to lose it with him.

"Because I kinda wanna be the one who says it first." Caleb immediately felt embarrassed about how stupid this actually sounded when he had said it out loud.

"And then you wait until the very last day?" The French boy scoffed indignantly before shooting him an incredulous look. "Americans! I will never understand." At that, he turned and hurriedly crossed the street.

"Yeah, I've made plans for that day, you know… Grand gesture, Eiffel Tower, all that stuff?" Caleb ran after him and quickened his pace to keep up with Sèb's steps.

Upon reaching the other side of the street, Sèb stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face him. "You want to cheer your girl up and make her happy?"

"Yeah… of course." Caleb still didn't understand what he was getting at.

"Then why wait?"

Caleb stared at him, unable to answer his question. Sèb suddenly turned on his heel and walked back across the street, now mumbling instructions in French.

Caleb yelled after him, "Hey? Where are you going?" But then, he started following him anyway.

"We're going to Decathlon," his friend called over his shoulder. "I have an idea."

Caleb stopped walking yet again and watched Sèb hasten away. Slowly, a small smile crept upon his lips and he bit down on his lower lip. He stood, shaking his head in disbelief about his friend's determination to help him.

Eventually, Caleb was torn from his reverie when he heard Sèb calling out to him from a distance. "You coming?"

* * *

**~ 8:40 PM ~ Rue du Montparnasse, Paris ~**

* * *

Somewhere in yet another part of the city, Lucas Gottesman was being examined head-to-toe by his host family's daughter, Aurelie, who was sitting on his guest bed. He was standing in front of the closet, arranging his clothes after putting them onto hangers, sorting them by color and suitability for all kinds of weathers. He could feel the probing gaze of the eighteen-year-old girl on his back, and imagined her rolling her eyes at his perfectly organized wardrobe.

She was pretty, with her long blonde hair and blue eyes; without a doubt. Lucas inwardly prided himself on probably being the envy of every other guy in his class.

If only she didn't look like the girl that he secretly had a crush on, the girl who he thought would have been a better fit for the Dubois family.

He tried to control his breathing as he began to find her presence in his room very unsettling. Every now and then, he heard her scoff in reaction to another hanger being placed on the hanging rail; she was beginning to take note of his wide collection of striped shirts… vertical stripes, horizontal stripes, the whole nine yards.

Lucas quietly worked his way through his suitcase. He had stopped talking a few minutes ago, after Aurelie had interrogated him about the purpose of bringing Wellington boots for a two-week school trip. His explanations had made her giggle, and that had led to him going as red as a beet, and turning his back on her in order to continue unpacking. He had yet to find his flannel pajamas and couldn't wait to flee from the awkward situation in order to go to bed. Best to stick to his usual routine despite the jet lag, he thought.

When he was done emptying his suitcase and composing his neatly folded striped sleepwear on the bed in his guest room, Aurelie stood up, and walked over to his still open closet. She let her hand glide over the succession of shirts, sweater vests, and turtlenecks, feeling all of the different materials with a hint of disgust on her face. After a beat, she slammed the door of the closet shut, and turned around to face him. "Ok, we are going shopping tomorrow. No back talk!"

Her thick French accent stirred something inside of Lucas, and he couldn't help but think that maybe, the next two weeks wouldn't be as bad as he had first expected.

* * *

**~ 9:13 PM ~ Boulevard Suchet, Paris ~**

* * *

Later that evening, Caleb raced down the stairs of his host family's house taking two steps at a time. As soon as he had reached the ground floor, ready to step outside, his phone vibrated, announcing that he had received a new text message. Caleb pulled it out of the back pocket of his black jeans.

_I have everything ready until 11:30. Hope it will all work out best. Bonne chance! Sèb._

He closed the message and jerked up his head, looking up to where the stairs above him ended before turning his attention back to his phone and opening the menu to type a new text.

_Ready to earn some bad girl stripes? Sneak out! I'll pick you up in 45 minutes. Bring a warm jacket. C._

The smirk on his face grew as he imagined his carefully constructed plan coming to life. He checked the time again and stepped out onto the curb, looking left and right as he tried to remember his way to the nearest Mètro station in the now darkened street of the posh neighborhood in Paris' west.

_to be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

_CHAPTER 4_

* * *

**~ 9:13 PM ~ Avenue du Bel Air, Paris ~**

* * *

Later that evening, in the Girard family's art-nouveau-style apartment building, Hanna was standing in front of the foldout sofa-bed, desperately trying to figure out how the damn piece of furniture was going to turn into her bed for the night. Her host family had offered their help earlier that evening - at least that's what little she had picked up from her last conversation with them - but she somehow didn't dare approach them to ask for help due to her inadequacies in the mechanical department… not to mention the ones in the French language department. And with a host brother who was watching her every step, she was happy that she had been able to close the door behind her before she had begun to make herself at home, ready for the days to come.

Once again, she damned the day in her freshman year of high school during which she had decided to drop Spanish and continue studying French instead, all because of her irrational love for French fashion designers. What was she thinking? Instead of breaking out into a sweat, pushing and shoving at threadbare couches, she could be sitting and sweating in a bikini under a nice palm tree in the south of Spain now, working on her tan in the middle of fall.

She was well and truly stumped. Damn.

"Merde!" Came her muttered voice, rounding up the impressions of her afternoon and evening thus far.

Summoning all of her strength, she pulled at the seating cushion one last time, and finally, the mechanism clicked and gave way. Hanna unfolded the thin mattress and immediately sat down on it, breathing heavily. The second she laid down and stretched out flat on her back, she heard the prominent beep of her phone that lay on the small night table right by the sofa. She reached out to grab it and a smile appeared on her face as she realized that she had received a text from Caleb.

_Ready to earn some bad girl stripes? Sneak out! I'll pick you up in 45 minutes. Bring a warm jacket. C._

The smile on her face faltered and she furrowed her brows as she thought about what her boyfriend was getting up to at 10pm. How was she supposed to sneak out on her very first night at the Girards' apartment? They were probably keeping an eye on her to make sure that she was feeling at home there, even if it was just for a short period of time.

Hanna quietly opened the door of her guest room and peered down the long hallway where four other doors led to adjoining rooms. The hall was completely dark, except for a narrow strip of light which was emanating from below the door of one of the rooms; Hanna remembered it as being the bathroom.

As she stood on her threshold listening to the muffled noises coming from behind that particular door, she caught on with the fact that with the exception of one person, nobody in the family seemed to be up and awake anymore. And whoever was in the bathroom now, must have been in the middle of getting ready for bed, she concluded upon hearing the humming noise of what sounded suspiciously like an electric toothbrush. She couldn't help but wonder whether they all would always go to sleep this early; it was only a quarter past nine! What was she supposed to do every evening after the rest of the family had gone to bed? She was left with only her phone as a means of communicating whereas usually, she would be at one of her friends' houses at this time. If only Aria, Spencer and Emily didn't live so far away from her now, she'd happily walk over to them in order to avoid being all on her own every evening.

She did, however, feel relieved about the fact that Thomas had finally left her alone when he had disappeared into his own room, where he would presumably be playing computer games all night long. Hanna thought that he looked like that kind of kid, with his slightly bloodshot eyes which had dark circles underneath them.

In a way, she was also thankful for the fact that she wouldn't have to rack her brains for French grammar and articulation rules for a few hours. Grinning, she walked back into her room and busied herself with the bedspread and linens, preparing her sofa-bed for the night, even though she didn't know when night time would actually come for her. Despite the night flight to Paris and the fact that they had arrived in the city after having had little to no sleep on the plane, she wasn't tired yet. After all, in Rosewood time, it was still the afternoon.

Once her bed had been made, she laid down and re-read Caleb's message, trying to come up with ideas as to what he might have planned for them.

Maybe a late dinner in a nice grown-up Parisian restaurant? She scratched that thought from her mind… no 'bad girl' image to be earned doing that.

Maybe a drink in a bar? Was she allowed to drink alcohol in France? She made a mental note to check up on that. There was a hint of bad girl in that conception, she thought.

She was ripped from her wishful thinking when she heard the bathroom door open and close in quick succession, followed by the shuffling of feet as somebody walked across the hallway. Marielle Girard, Hanna's host mother, peered into the guest room and found Hanna staring up at the ceiling.

"Alors, Hanna? Tu ne dors pas encore?" [ _Hey Hanna, you're not sleeping yet?_ ]

"Non. Je suis pas encore fatiguée." [ _No. I'm not tired yet_.]

"D'accord. On va toujours se coucher à 9:30 parce qu'on doit se lever très tôt," she added with an apologetic smile, feeling slightly sorry for the young blonde. [ _Okay then. We always go to sleep at 9:30 because we have to be up really early._ ]

Hanna blinked at her and nodded, pretending she had understood everything.

"Bonne nuit et dors bien!" Marielle said as she turned around to leave the room. [ _Good night and sleep tight_.]

„Bonne nuit," Hanna replied enthusiastically, relieved that her host mom had left her with a sentence that she understood and was even able to reply to. At that, the older woman looked back at her and smiled before shutting the door again.

"Well, that was easy," Hanna said to herself, thinking that she may even have to embellish her story about sneaking out a little bit in order for her to earn her bad girl reputation with Caleb.

Hanna turned off the lights in order to create the illusion that she had gone to sleep, too. Then, she laid down on her bed again where she nervously checked the clock on her phone. In just a few minutes' time, she would finally see Caleb again. The thought alone made her heart beat a little faster. She hadn't seen him since that morning, when they hadn't even been able to kiss each other goodbye in front of Mr. Gilbert and the other students before taking separate trains to go and meet their host families in opposite sides of the city.

The conversation they'd had on the phone at noon had been good for her, in the sense that it had made her stop worrying about Caleb's well-being. But it had also made her miss him even more. Laying there in the dark, Hanna contemplated what she was going to tell Marielle and Victor or, god forbid, Thomas, in case she got caught in the hallway, clad in full gear and about to open the front door of their apartment. There was never a good explanation for sneaking out of a stranger's apartment at night without saying goodbye.

At 9:38pm, Hanna had turned the lights back on and stood in front of her closet, letting her eyes dart between the different compartments which contained her shirts and pants. She had already plucked out a white hoodie jacket with a plush lining from its hanger as it was the warmest jacket she had brought along for her trip. Then, she took all of her pants out and spread them all over her sofa-bed, eyeing their different forms and fits.

At long last, she chose her brand-new pair of white skinny jeans which Caleb had made her buy because they would make her butt look sexy. After she had put the rest of the pants back into the closet, she shut the doors and began to search the room. Eventually, she found the plastic bag that had 'miraculously' found its way to her after she hadn't been able to stop herself from doing just a little bit of shopping at the airport that morning. She pulled her new t-shirt out of the bag and tore off its tags.

When she was dressed in pants and t-shirt with the jacket still laying on the bed, ready to throw over her outfit, she squatted down on the carpet and looked at the range of shoes that she had been able to squeeze into her suitcase. There were four-inch-heels, six-inch-heels, leather boots and a pair of white low top Converse sneakers that she had hardly ever worn before.

Remembering again that she was supposed to sneak out inconspicuously, and therefore as quietly as possible, Hanna opted for the sneakers and slipped them on. Her high heels wouldn't have been a good match with that hooded jacket anyway, she reasoned while tying her shoes. She was a little sad about the fact that she felt unusually small without her heels.

She gave herself a final look-over in the mirror by her door and brushed her hair. Her long blonde locks fell loosely over her shoulders in waves.

She was ready to go. Ready to explore Paris. With Caleb.

"Perfect," she said as she looked into the mirror. "Oh, pardon. Parfaitement!" She laughed at herself. She felt so giddy with excitement, but at the same time she was almost bursting with apprehension.

Her nerves needed an outlet.

Hanna took her phone and opened up the group chat with the girls. It had been awfully quiet all evening. No messages had been posted and Hanna sadly realized that they were probably all busy getting to know their host families or watching television with them.

She tried anyway.

_HELP!_

_Caleb is gonna pick me up in 10 and he wants me to sneak out of the house._

A mere three seconds later, Aria was the first to react.

_Whoa. What is he up to?_

Hanna quickly typed out a new message.

_I dunno. Has he told you sth?_

A second later, Spencer responded, too.

_He probably wants to come by to give you a goodnight kiss on your first night in Paris._

It wasn't long before Emily joined in, too.

_Yeah, he can't take you out for the night just like that. He probably wants to make good for all the kisses you didn't get to share throughout the day. ;-)_

Then, Aria wrote again.

_Yeah, probs a goodnight kiss. He knows you wouldn't just leave the house on your first night there._

The successive _ding ding ding_ of her phone announced the arrival of more incoming messages.

_Or would you?_

_Or would you?_

_Or would you?_

All three of her friends seemed to have had the same thought, causing Hanna to question her own sanity. She hadn't even hesitated for a second when Caleb had asked her to do exactly that: sneak out. Of course she would. This was Caleb asking, her boyfriend. He was still a mystery to her sometimes, always up for a surprise. She was desperate to find out what he was up to tonight.

There was nowhere in the world she would rather be right now than in his arms. Besides, everyone else in the apartment had probably fallen asleep already by now. What could go wrong?

She let her fingers dance across the keys again.

_My family went to sleep half an hour ago. I'm all alone. :-(_

Emily wrote back in an instant.

_Nooooo? Poor you_

Spencer was quick to follow.

_You're going, right?_

Hanna saw that it was almost 10pm. She typed her final message to the group chat and grabbed her small tote sack.

_Heading out. I'll keep you posted. Bye_

Another beep caused her to look at the display one more time. Aria had posted yet another message.

_No you won't. ;-) Have fun!_

Hanna smiled at her friend's final message and put the phone into her tote sack along with a couple of Euro bills. Then, she switched off the lights and quietly slipped out of the guest room. She stood in the hallway and listened carefully. There were faint shooting noises coming out of Thomas' room and she rolled her eyes at the realization that she had judged him correctly. But apart from that, there was no other proof of anyone else in the apartment being awake.

Hanna felt like it was safe to leave.

She snuck out of the front door and tiptoed down the stairs. Upon reaching the ground floor, she stalled and finally caught her breath which she had been holding the entire time.

* * *

**~ 10:01 PM ~ Avenue du Bel Air, Paris ~**

* * *

Caleb anxiously leaned back against the giant oak tree in front of the apartment building that was going to be Hanna's new home for the next two weeks. His heart was hammering inside his ribcage; he was full of apprehension, desperately hoping that she had gotten his text, and would somehow find a way to sneak out of the house.

If she didn't, he would come back tomorrow and try again. He would keep trying until he'd had his chance to tell her what he had been meaning to get off of his chest. But he couldn't tell her on school grounds, he had concluded. This required no onlookers.

He stood with his hands buried in the depths of his jacket pockets, his eyes fixated on the inconspicuous gray door in front of him, which was now the only barrier that was keeping him separated from his girlfriend.

For a second, he looked down at the screen of his phone, checking to see if she had sent him a message, but save for the clock telling him that it was after ten already, his lock screen was empty.

Had she fallen asleep? Had she been caught already? Did she not trust him enough to be out alone in the streets with him at night? His mind was going haywire.

All of a sudden, the door in front of him opened up a little, and a familiar head of hair peered through the crack. "Caleb?" Came her whispered voice from behind the door. Caleb said nothing, but his lips instantly formed a smile at the sound of her small voice which made him think she was still doubting whether he would actually be there to pick her up. Sometimes, Hanna seemed to be so insecure and untrusting.

He revealed himself to her as he stepped out of the thick shadow of the tree trunk, which seemed to have absorbed his dark shape, as he was clad in black clothes from head to toe.

"You're here!" Hanna exclaimed happily, her voice a little too loud. He quickly hushed her by putting his index finger to his lips, before pointing that same finger to the windows above them, some of which were open in order to let in some fresh night air. She immediately understood, and lowered her voice. "Okay, Mister Big Secret, what do we do now?"

Avoiding her question, Caleb came closer, and gently nudged her away from the house. A few feet further down the street, he stopped, and checked out her appearance.

Beneath the dim light of a street lamp, he saw that, unaware of his intentions, she had managed to dress perfectly for a night out on the town with him. Together, they stood like a mismatched pair of chess pieces, with Hanna being on the opposing team to him in an all-white outfit: sexy skinny jeans, a soft cotton hoodie jacket, and sneakers. Without high heels, she was a perfect fit for the hollow of his armpit, he realized as he put his arm around her shoulder and started walking. She seemed so much more petite like that; his need to protect her from the dangers of the big city increased, and caused his grip around her arm to tighten. Shooting glances at her almost nonstop, he continually took in her beauty, enjoying the feeling of being able to hold her in his arms again, without any other students or teachers around. It was electrifying.

Hanna noticed his probing gaze. "What? Do I look okay? You didn't really give me many clues as to how I was supposed to dress."

"I missed you," He murmured as he leaned over to kiss her temple.

"Aw, I missed you too," Hanna said, truthfully.

They stopped walking, and turned towards one another in order to share a series of open-mouthed kisses.

When he broke the kiss and resumed walking, Hanna sighed, and Caleb remembered his plan. There would be more time to kiss later, he told himself. First things first.

"Do you have a t-shirt on underneath that jacket?" Caleb winked at Hanna, hoping she'd catch the element of teasing in his voice.

She did not.

"A t-shirt? Why?" She asked, warily.

"Are you still standing firm on not getting matching tattoos for the two of us? Because a t-shirt would make it so much easier to go through with that now."

"What?" She exclaimed with an incredulous, yet horrified expression on her face.

"Was that a yes or a no?" He smirked, virtually on the edge of breaking out into a fit of laughter.

"You made me sneak out of the house to take me to a tattoo artist?" She still looked appalled.

"Does that mean that you won't have my name inked on your upper arm? Or would you prefer having it on your butt cheek? 'Cause I found a guy who'd be willing to do it without our parents' permission. And he wouldn't judge."

He saw that she was struggling to hold her composure, and instantly felt a wave of shame wash over him. "Just kidding," He told her.

"Caleb!" She whined, feigning despair at his odd sense of humor. As if sneaking out of her host family's apartment on her very first night in Paris wasn't exciting and nerve-racking enough…

Her mind drifted off for a second as she imagined his cute butt cheek branded by her name; she quickly shook herself out of it and scratched that thought. But she made a mental note to ask him about the tattoo that he already had on his butt, which she had only caught a short glimpse of when she had seen him naked in the shower a month ago. It had been too short of a moment for her to remember exactly what it looked like. But she did remember that, in her eyes, it had been an unusual sight.

"Han, relax! We're not getting matching tattoos tonight. Or any night, for that matter," He clarified.

She felt herself relax, ready to conquer the city. "Then what are we gonna do instead? A late dinner? A walk by the Seine? A boat tour through the city at night? That would be so romantic…" The seemingly endless supply of suggestions ended when she saw that he had continued walking without so much as a nod or a head-shake. However, she soon became aware of the playful smile that had appeared at the corners of his lips; it made her head spin, and she feared that she had run out of ideas as to what they could do in Paris at night-time. She'd had a lot of time to think about the many possibilities that Paris had to offer. However, a short group chat session with her friends had deflated her expectations, when they had all suggested that he would probably just want to give her a goodnight kiss by the front door of her current home.

Hanna secretly hoped that Caleb would do more than that, and surprise her with some big romantic gesture. But, given the circumstances, she'd even settle for that goodnight kiss. Feeling his lips on hers a minute or so before had only made her miss him even more, despite the fact that he was still right there by her side. She was dreading the moment that she would have to go back upstairs to her bedroom again.

At long last, Caleb broke his silence as they reached the entrance of a nearby subway station. "Down for a little sightseeing à la Rivers?"

_to be continued…_

* * *


End file.
